Zumiez reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 net sales of $209.0 million, down 2.5% from $214.3 million a year earlier, as weaker U.S. performance outweighed continued growth in the retailer’s international markets.
Comparable sales for the 13 weeks ended August 1 decreased 2.1%. Zumiez posted a net loss of $2.7 million, or $0.17 per share, compared with a net loss of $1.0 million, or $0.06 per share, in the prior-year quarter.
Management attributed the weaker quarterly performance primarily to continued softness in footwear and lower customer traffic in the U.S.
International operations provided a partial offset, continuing to generate comparable sales growth as the U.S. business faced more difficult comparisons following two years of low-double-digit comparable sales growth during similar periods.
For the first six months of fiscal 2026, net sales increased 0.9% to $402.3 million from $398.6 million, while comparable sales increased 0.7%. The six-month net loss was $16.0 million, or $1.00 per share, compared with $15.3 million, or $0.88 per share, a year earlier.
Zumiez ended the quarter with $97.3 million of cash and current marketable securities, compared with $106.7 million a year earlier. The change reflected $34.5 million associated with share repurchases and $10.6 million of capital expenditures, partially offset by $35.7 million of operating cash flow.
The company repurchased 1.2 million shares during the quarter for $23.2 million at an average price of $19.30 per share. Through August 1, fiscal year-to-date repurchases totaled 1.5 million shares at a cost of $29.5 million.
Early third-quarter trends remained challenging. Net sales for the 37 days ended September 7 declined 4.3% from the comparable prior-year period, while comparable sales fell 3.5%.
Zumiez expects third-quarter net sales of $222 million to $226 million and earnings per share between $0.00 and $0.10.
For fiscal 2026, the company currently plans to open approximately five stores, all in North America, while closing roughly 16 locations, including 10 in North America and six internationally.
KEY QUOTES:
“Second quarter results came in below last year driven by weaker performance in the U.S., which was primarily driven by continued softness in footwear as well as lower traffic levels. The decline in the U.S. business was partially offset by continued growth across our other regions, underscoring the strength and diversification of our global business. Our back-to-school trend was similar to our second quarter results with the U.S. being our toughest performing market after two years of low double digit comparable store sales growth for the same periods, partially offset by comparable sales gains internationally. As we look forward to the holiday season, we remain focused on refining our merchandise assortments and deepening our customer experience initiatives to improve the trajectory.”
Rick Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of Zumiez
